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Preview: Livingston vs. Hibernian - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 7 December 2023, 12:24
After six consecutive games without a victory Livingston will be looking to turn things around on Saturday when they host Hibernian in their latest Scottish Premiership match.

Meanwhile at the other end of the table, Hibernian have the chance to crack the top four with three points this weekend if other results go in their favour.

Match preview

Livingston were given a midweek rest after their match against Ross County ended up being postponed, meaning they should head into the weekend fresher than their opponents.

That is an advantage that the Lions will be looking to exploit after six matches without a victory, a run of form that has left the club at the bottom of the league table.

Livingston trail safety by four points, which is a gap that they need to shrink sooner rather than later if they want to avoid allowing it to get too big.

Finding the back of the net is something that the Lions need to work on to change their fortunes considering the fact they have scored just nine times this season, which is the lowest in the entire division.

Despite that, the last time they faced Hibernian led to Livingston getting one of their two victories of the season after they came out on top of a five-goal thriller, which should give the team some confidence.

That was a game the Hibees would prefer to forget as Martin Boyle and Josh Campbell's goals were not enough to get them any points that day.

Hibernian will also be looking to move past their midweek performance as they were comfortably defeated by Celtic in a 4-1 loss, with Christian Doidge's goal being nothing more than a consolation in the second half.

Nick Montgomery's team are still in a position where they could climb into the top four this weekend if they pick up a win, with the team just a point behind St Mirren as they trail Hearts by two.

However, Hibernian have been weaker in away matches, particularly from a defensive perspective as they have conceded 17 times on the road this season.

Considering the fact that Livingston have struggled for goals, that poor form is something that the Hibees will be attempting to change this time around.

Livingston Scottish Premiership form:

L

L

L

L

L

L

Hibernian Scottish Premiership form:

D

D

W

W

W

L

Hibernian form (all competitions):

L

D

W

W

W

L

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Team News

Michael Nottingham could have benefited from some extra time due to Livingston's midweek match being postponed, which might allow him to be available for the first time since the international break.

Bruce Anderson will be expected to lead the line this weekend, with David Martindale likely giving Kurtis Guthrie the nod to partner him.

Lewis Miller and Elie Youan were both brought into the Hibernian starting lineup in midweek, and they will likely retain their spots in the team.

Boyle brings plenty of experience to the attacking side of the Hibees, but the club is dealing with a lot of injury problems at the moment.

Harry McKirdy, Jake Doyle-Hayes, Chris Cadden and Adam Le Fondre have all been unavailable as of late, and each player is expected to miss this fixture because of that.

Livingston possible starting lineup:

Hamilton; Welch-Hayes, Devlin, Kelly, Penrice; Shinnie, Pittman, Sangare, Holt; Anderson, Nouble

Hibernian possible starting lineup:

Marshall; Miller, Fish, Bushiri, Stevenson; Campbell, Levitt, Newell, Tavares; Boyle, Youan

We say: Livingston 0-3 Hibernian

Livingston have been struggling this season, and considering they are sitting bottom of the league they will walk into the match as the underdogs.

Hibernian also come into the weekend on the back of a defeat, but this fixture could work out as the ideal game to turn things around for them.

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